Delivery, takeaway sales soar ahead of reopening

Restaurants, pubs and bars’ at-home orders in March were more than triple compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Delivery and takeaway sales soared in March as consumers filled the void left by restaurant, pub and bar closures, according to CGA’s new Hospitality at Home Tracker.

Orders in March were 9% up from February. As well as deliveries and takeaways, orders include at-home food and drinks kits.

March’s sales were 346% higher than in the same month in 2019, when the sector was fully operational for eating out. Growth was fuelled particularly by deliveries, accounting for more than 62% of operators’ sales.

“Consumers who have been kept at home for so long have embraced hospitality at home to make up for lost eating and drinking out experiences, and orders have been a lifeline for many brands while their venues are shut,” said Karl Chessell, CGA’s business unit director - hospitality operators and food, EMEA.

“The big question now is the extent to which habits of lockdown have become engrained in consumers’ behaviour, as venues re-open and they start to return to eating and drinking out. For all brands, understanding the balance between out-of-home and at-home preferences, and adjusting marketing and operational activity accordingly, is going to be a key consideration in the months ahead.”